Improved air-compressing apparatus



UNITED STATES JOuN s. PATRIO, or vic'ron., new YORK.

IMPROVED AIR-COMPRESSING APPARATUS.

Specilication forming part of Letters Patent No. 4 7.328. dated April18, 1365.

I0 all whom, it may concern/.-

Be it known that I, JOHN S. PATRIC, of Victor, in the `county of Ontarioand State ot' New York, have invented a new and useful apparatus forcompressing air by means of water to drive air-engines and for othermechanical purposes; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which-Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section of my invention, taken inthe direction of the red line m in Fig. 2, a portion of the lower end ofthe water-pipe P being removed to show the valve a. Fig. 2 is atransverse section of the same in the plane ot the red line o in Fig. 1.Similar letters of reference indicate corre# sponding parts in bothfigures.

The object ot'this invention is to compress air by means of a column ofwater, which air may be readily conveyed in pipes to convenientlocalities to supply atmospheric engines for driving machinery, &c. 5and it consists in the employment or use for that purpose ot' areservoir or chamber composed of two compartments, which are separatedby a flexible diaphragm connected to an adjusting-bar that operates theinlet and outlet water-valves of cach chamber.

The details ofthe construction will be better understood by reference tothe drawings and specification.

To enable others'to make and use my invention, I will describe itsconstruction and operation.

A and A in the drawings represent the two compartments in which the airiscom pressed by the pressure of the water forced in through the pipes Pand P under a head. B is the web to which the flexible diaphragm d issecured by the metallic ring h, which is held by rivets or otherwise. Cand U' are guides or supports for the ends ot' the adjusting bar orszrew s D D, the domes into which the lloats F and F rise alternately; Eand E', the outlet water-valves; G and G', the valves through which thecompressed air escapes from the compressingchambers; H and H', the inletair-valves.

The reversing bar or screw s is attached to the diaphragm d by clampingthe disks y between the nuts m. g The arms J of the inletvalves aresecured to the bar s by the setfnuts a, and the top of the arms l of theoutlet `valves E and E is connected loosely to the arms J The ends ot'the bar s are allowed to slide freely in the guides G. Each pair of thejointed levers j' and f( are hinged at one end to the ears projectingfrom the bent rods b, which are rigidly fixed to the web B. The otherends are hinged to the studs 'c and c', which may be tapped onto the baror screw s, as seen in Fig. 1, or they may be fitted loosely andsupported between jam-nuts, similar to the arms J, which mightbe moredesirable for varying the longitudinal throw of the screw. The

pivot ot' the center joint of these levers receives the float-rodsr.There is a stop, c, attached to one of the jointed levers in eachcompartment, and as the water is discharged from either its lioat dropsuntil the stop e rests upon the y screw s. The middle joint of theleversshould drop a triiie below the center of the end joints, as shown in theleft hand chamber in Fig. 1, which eiectually locks tlie screw s and thediaphragm d in their present position until they shall be released bythe next influx ot water in that compartment, which raises the float,and the pressure of the water against the iiexible diaphragm forces itand the screw s to their opposite position, and the stud c being alsomoved back allows the levers f and the float F to drop to the positionshown by those in the opposite chamber.

. This apparatus is placed at the foot of th fall or column of waterwhich is supplied to the compartments A and A alternately through thepipes P and P. The relative position of the parts in the two chambers isshown in Fig.

l, as just previous to a change which will empty chamber A and till A. i

When the water in A rises a little above the height indicated by the reddotted line in chamber A, the loat F and levers f are raised, the sameas indicated by those in the opposite chamber, and the bar s beingthereby 'released the pressure of the water against' the diaphragm, asbefore stated, forces it to its opposite position, which opens valvesEand ct and closes E', and that in the lower end of pipe P, all of whichare locked in that position by the fall ofthe float and levers inchamber A', and the valves Gr and I1 are at once closed and II and Gopened.

The airy is supplied through the valves H and H', and the compressed airis sent oftl for use through valves G and G, which may com- 1n unieatewith one common reservoir.

The valves H and H may be attached to the top instead of' at the sidesby applying,` alight spring to keep them closed when necessary.

The floats F and F may be flat-tened, if' desired, to make them moresensitive upon the water.

The pendants g guide the floats F and F into the domes, and there shouldbe three or more for each float.

A single chamber may be used by attaching the two water-valves to aweighted lever hinged at thebottom, and the top bein g thrown eieh waypast the eenter by the rising and falling of the float alternately. Thiswould be less desirable perhaps than the double chamber, because itsaction would be intermitteilt.

What I elaiin as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The combination ot' the floats F and F', and the diaphragm d, withthe inlet and outlet water-valves a and E and E', all the parts bein garranged and operating within the air and water chamber.

2. Operating thewateryalves a and E by the bar s, which is connected tothe flexible diaphragm d, substantially as set fort-h.

3. The combination of the floats F and F with the jointed levers f andf', arranged and operating substantially in the manner and for thepurpose shown and described.

J. s. Parme.

Witnesses: Y.

WM. S. LoUGHBoRoUGH, AsA H. BILLINGS.

